Still, glaring turnovers and errant free throws can't
blemish a noteworthy feat. OSU, which has largely toiled in irrelevancy for
more than two decades, boasts a 4-4 Pac-12 record. A Super Bowl Sunday upset of
UCLA would push the Beavers above .500 through nine conference games for the
first time since 1999.

With Pac-12 play's midpoint nearing, OSU has a shot at its
first (well-regarded) postseason berth in nine years. Of course, nothing is
guaranteed for Craig Robinson's inconsistent bunch.

After the upcoming Bruins tilt, the Beavers stare down road
tests against Arizona State, No. 1 Arizona and Oregon. They then return to Gill
Coliseum for winnable matchups against the Washington schools before ending the
regular season on yet another daunting stretch: at USC and UCLA, and at home
against the Arizona programs.

"One weekend can change you from being in the lower third, to
being in the upper half, even the upper third depending on what happens with
the other teams," said Robinson, whose Beavers are currently one win shy of
third place in a crowded Pac-12. "If you keep getting your home games and keep
stealing your road games, one game, sometimes two, you can put yourself in a
situation of achieving some goals you want to achieve."

According to Ducks beat writer Andrew Greif, the
conference's lowest NCAA Tournament seed over the past 10 years has averaged
10.6 wins and 7.3 losses in Pac-12/10 play. That means OSU (12-8, 4-4 Pac-12)
would need to go 7-3 the rest of the way to have a realistic chance of
experiencing its first March Madness since the Gary Payton days.

Trusted analytics site KenPom.com has
the Beavers nabbing just two of those wins, the home games against WSU and
Washington. A 6-12 conference record wouldn't even warrant a sniff from NIT
officials.

"If some things work out, we
could be right at the top of the league," guard Roberto Nelson said. "Each win
is a huge win our conference, so each game we want to go out there and play as
hard as we possibly can."

How do you see things unfolding? Put your projections in the comments section
below.